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Episodes

#557 The Shadow Audience Problem: Matt Zarracina on Fixing Ticketing’s Biggest Tech Blind Spot
Dec. 22, 2025

#557 The Shadow Audience Problem: Matt Zarracina on Fixing Ticketing’…

Live events generate massive attention, yet most venues have no idea who is actually attending. In this episode, Mehmet Gonullu sits down with Matt Zarracina , CEO and Co-Founder of True Tickets , to unpack the hidden infrast...

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#556 The CFO’s New Mandate: Ahikam Kaufman on AI, Financial Governance, and Real-Time Truth
Dec. 20, 2025

#556 The CFO’s New Mandate: Ahikam Kaufman on AI, Financial Governanc…

In this episode of The CTO Show with Mehmet , I’m joined by Ahikam Kaufman , Co-Founder and CEO of Safebooks.ai, a seasoned finance executive turned entrepreneur with deep experience across startups, public companies, and lar...

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#555 From Silicon Valley to MENA Scale: Khaled Nazif on Loyalty, Leadership, and Building DSquares
Dec. 17, 2025

#555 From Silicon Valley to MENA Scale: Khaled Nazif on Loyalty, Lead…

In this episode of The CTO Show with Mehmet , I sit down with Khaled Nazif , COO of DSquares , one of the most influential yet quietly powerful enterprise loyalty platforms in the MENA region. Khaled shares his journey from S...

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#554 Securing the AI Era: Alex Schlager on Why AI Agents Are the New Attack Surface
Dec. 15, 2025

#554 Securing the AI Era: Alex Schlager on Why AI Agents Are the New …

In this episode of The CTO Show with Mehmet , I’m joined by Alex Schlager , Founder and CEO of AIceberg , a company operating at the intersection of AI, cybersecurity, and explainability. We dive deep into why AI agents funda...

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#553 Raising Capital Without Illusions: Daniel Nikic on Global Investing and Founder Mistakes
Dec. 13, 2025

#553 Raising Capital Without Illusions: Daniel Nikic on Global Invest…

Raising capital looks easy from the outside. In reality, it is one of the most misunderstood parts of building a startup. In this episode, Mehmet sits down with Daniel Nikic , a global investment researcher who has analyzed o...

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#552 From Solo Founder to YC Investor: Gabriel Jarrosson on What Drives Breakout Startups
Dec. 10, 2025

#552 From Solo Founder to YC Investor: Gabriel Jarrosson on What Driv…

In this episode, Gabriel Jarrosson, founder and managing partner at Lobster Capital, breaks down what truly drives breakout startups inside the world’s most competitive ecosystem. Before becoming a YC-focused investor, Gabrie...

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#551 How to Validate Anything: Kingsley Maunder’s SALT Test for Startup Builders
Dec. 8, 2025

#551 How to Validate Anything: Kingsley Maunder’s SALT Test for Start…

In this episode, Kingsley Maunder breaks down one of the most overlooked aspects of startup building: proper validation. With over two decades in the startup ecosystem, building products used by Disney, EA Sports, Snap, and m...

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#550 From Zero to a Million-Dollar Month: How Colin McIntosh Built a Breakout Consumer Startup
Dec. 6, 2025

#550 From Zero to a Million-Dollar Month: How Colin McIntosh Built a …

In this conversation, Colin opens the curtain on how Sheets & Giggles became a breakout DTC success by doing things differently: selling before building, leaning into humor, making bold brand decisions, and prioritizing commu...

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#549 Why Small Teams Win: Mark Donnigan on GTM, Marketing, and Founder-Led Growth
Dec. 3, 2025

#549 Why Small Teams Win: Mark Donnigan on GTM, Marketing, and Founde…

Mark Donnigan has spent decades helping deep tech and video technology startups translate complex products into commercial traction. In this conversation, we cover why early stage companies must stay lean, how to diagnose GTM...

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#548 AI, Threats, and the New Cyber Resilience Playbook With Gerald Beuchelt & Subu Rao
Dec. 1, 2025

#548 AI, Threats, and the New Cyber Resilience Playbook With Gerald B…

In this conversation, Mehmet is joined by Gerald Beuchelt and Subu Rao , two cybersecurity leaders from Acronis , to unpack the evolving threat landscape, the rise of AI in both offense and defense, and why cyber resilience h...

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#547 Why OKRs Fail: Radhika Dutt on Building Teams That Think, Learn, and Adapt
Nov. 29, 2025

#547 Why OKRs Fail: Radhika Dutt on Building Teams That Think, Learn,…

In this episode, Mehmet sits down with Radhika Dutt , author of Radical Product Thinking , to explore why OKRs and traditional performance frameworks often collapse under the realities of modern work. Radhika introduces OLA ,...

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#546 Reinventing GTM: Jonathan Kvarfordt on Building AI Native Revenue Teams
Nov. 26, 2025

#546 Reinventing GTM: Jonathan Kvarfordt on Building AI Native Revenu…

In this conversation, Jonathan breaks down the real state of AI adoption in GTM, why most revenue teams are still “stuck in the basics,” and how leaders can shift from dashboards to intelligence. He explains why CRM data hygi...

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#545 Exploring the Real Frontier: Dr. Nico Augustin on Deep Ocean Discovery and Innovation
Nov. 24, 2025

#545 Exploring the Real Frontier: Dr. Nico Augustin on Deep Ocean Dis…

In this episode, Mehmet sits down with Dr. Nico Augustin, Head of Research and Expeditions at OceanQuest, to uncover the mysteries of the deep ocean. From unexpected discoveries in the Atlantic to cutting edge underwater robo...

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#544 Reinventing Retail OS: Harish Chandramowli on AI, Workflows, and the Future of Fashion Tech
Nov. 22, 2025

#544 Reinventing Retail OS: Harish Chandramowli on AI, Workflows, and…

In this episode, Mehmet sits down with Harish Chandramowli , Head of AI at Good Day Software, to explore how AI is reshaping the future of fashion, retail, and e-commerce operations. Harish shares his journey from cybersecuri...

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#543 The HEART of a Winning Pitch: VC Ben Wiener on Crafting Startup Narratives That Convert
Nov. 20, 2025

#543 The HEART of a Winning Pitch: VC Ben Wiener on Crafting Startup …

In this episode, Mehmet sits down with VC and author Ben Wiener to unpack one of the most practical, founder-friendly pitching frameworks in the startup world today. Ben is the creator of the HEART Framework and the author of...

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#542 Human First Technology: Wesley Eugene on AI, Leadership, and the New Experience Era
Nov. 18, 2025

#542 Human First Technology: Wesley Eugene on AI, Leadership, and the…

In this powerful conversation, Wesley Eugene, SVP North America at HIT Global, joins Mehmet to explore a new framework for technology leadership. They go deep into human centered design, why digital transformations fail, how ...

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#541 How Composability Transforms Engineering: Luv Kapur on Scaling Fast and Shipping Better
Nov. 15, 2025

#541 How Composability Transforms Engineering: Luv Kapur on Scaling F…

In this episode, Luv Kapur joins Mehmet to break down how composability is reshaping modern engineering. Luv is an engineering leader at Bit, working across their open source and enterprise platforms, and one of the earliest ...

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#540 From Burnout to Breakthroughs: Christina Richardson on Founder Resilience and High Performance
Nov. 12, 2025

#540 From Burnout to Breakthroughs: Christina Richardson on Founder R…

In this powerful conversation, Christina Richardson — serial founder, resilience researcher, and founder of Foundology — joins Mehmet to unpack the real psychological journey of entrepreneurship. Christina shares the story be...

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#539 Why 70% of Digital Transformations Fail — And How to Fix Them with Tory Bjorklund
Nov. 10, 2025

#539 Why 70% of Digital Transformations Fail — And How to Fix Them wi…

Digital transformation isn’t about technology — it’s about leadership, culture, and execution. In this episode, veteran CTO and transformation expert Tory Bjorklund joins Mehmet to debunk hype-driven transformation, explain w...

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#538 Process Intelligence & AI: Liam O’Neil on Building Smarter, Scalable Organizations
Nov. 8, 2025

#538 Process Intelligence & AI: Liam O’Neil on Building Smarter, Scal…

In this episode, we sit down with Liam O’Neil , Managing Director at BPMD, to explore how modern organizations can use process intelligence, AI, and change design to build scalable, resilient systems. We go deep into process ...

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#537 AI, People, and Performance: Sriniketh Chakravarthi on Building Future-Ready Teams
Nov. 6, 2025

#537 AI, People, and Performance: Sriniketh Chakravarthi on Building …

In this episode, Apexon CEO Sriniketh Chakravarthi joins us to unpack what it really takes to build and scale a global technology services company in the era of AI and automation. We explore the intersection of technology, cu...

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#536 AI, AR & the Built World: Brian Corcodilos on Building Tomorrow’s Real Estate
Nov. 4, 2025

#536 AI, AR & the Built World: Brian Corcodilos on Building Tomorrow’…

In this episode, Mehmet sits down with Brian Corcodilos , CEO of Designblendz , to explore how technology is transforming the built environment — from 3D visualization and digital twins to the future of AR-powered real estate...

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#535 Inside Tech Investigations & Cyber Legal Battles With IT Expert & Arbitrator Ahmed Bahgat
Nov. 1, 2025

#535 Inside Tech Investigations & Cyber Legal Battles With IT Expert …

In this episode of The CTO Show with Mehmet , we sit down with Ahmed Bahgat , a leading IT expert, digital forensics specialist, and court-appointed arbitrator who has handled 600+ cyber and technology-related cases across th...

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#534 The $5B Tax-Free Travel Tech Opportunity: Ameer Jumahboy on Digitizing Tourist Spending
Oct. 30, 2025

#534 The $5B Tax-Free Travel Tech Opportunity: Ameer Jumahboy on Digi…

Tourism is becoming a strategic economic engine for cities like Dubai, Singapore, Riyadh, and Milan. But one massive gap has been untouched: tax-free shopping. Every year, billions in VAT refunds leave local economies instead...

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